Wally Funk after space trip with Jeff Bezos on a Blue Origin ship AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez Wally Funk, a pioneer in the aerospace sector, died this Thursday (9) at the age of 87. She is best known for becoming the oldest woman to make a space trip in 2021. Wally died in his apartment at a nursing home in Texas, United States, after suffering a few falls and contracting an infection in his leg, reported the Associated Press. ?? Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send it to g1 In the 1960s, she was among 13 women who underwent NASA astronaut training. They did not participate in space missions for the agency because they were women. In 2021, Wally was the "guest of honor" on Blue Origin's first manned suborbital flight, which also had the company's founder, Jeff Bezos, as a passenger. (remember below) Jeff Bezos in space: See the best moments of the flight and understand the case At the time, she was 82 years old and became the oldest person to go to space, a mark later surpassed by William Shatner, actor who played Captain Kirk in "Star Trek", and Ed Dwight, the first black US astronaut candidate. The two men traveled at the age of 90 each. Wally Funk was a pilot, flight instructor and the first woman to become an inspector for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and an aviation safety investigator for the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Blue Origin called Wally a pioneer in every sense of the word. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Wally Funk. We are honored to be part of his journey. His story will continue to inspire generations of future explorers." Caregiver Duff O'Dell said Wally was the most optimistic person she knew. "A lot of men told her, 'No, you can't do this, you can't do that'. And she never got angry about it. She just became more determined." Undated image shows space travel pioneer Wally Funk, who traveled to space with Jeff Bezos in 2021 Blue Origin via AFP